


Too Good to be True

by sadieb798



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Cute Kids, Fluff, Grocery Shopping, Grocery Store, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute, POV Sam Wilson, Parent Sam Wilson, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Is Good WIth Kids, Steve Rogers and his health problems, Teacher Steve Rogers, Trans Sam Wilson, just straight not straight fluff y'all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-02-01 03:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21350047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sadieb798/pseuds/sadieb798
Summary: “Jerri, are you sure you want - ” Sam cuts himself off when he turns around and doesn’t see his five-year-old daughter standing next to him.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson
Comments: 8
Kudos: 87





	Too Good to be True

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the Sam Wilson Appreciation Discord for cheering me on and offering up solutions to get around blocks. Extra thanks to [mrs_d ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs_d/pseuds/mrs_d) for suggesting Jerri's name! Double thanks to [Thunder](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thunder_Cakes/pseuds/Thunder_Cakes) for betaing this and giving it the Kid Approval I desperately needed!
> 
> This checks off "Kid Fic" and "Skinny Steve" off my Bingo Card!

Sam grumbles as he picks up the cereal box off the store shelf and starts reading the ingredients on the back.

“There’s so much sugar in here,” he mutters. “Jerri, are you sure you want - ” he cuts himself off when he turns around and doesn’t see his five-year-old daughter standing next to him. 

“Jerri?!” Sam yells, his breath seizing in his throat.

He takes off, abandoning his cartful of food without a second thought as he rounds the next aisle. But doesn’t see Jerri’s tight corkscrews decorated with sparkly purple barrettes or a flash of blue from her poofy Spider-Man dress in that aisle. Or in the aisle after that, or in the one after that. 

_ Don’t panic, don’t panic, don’t panic _ , Sam tells himself even as his heart pounds a mile a minute. It isn’t until he’s on the opposite side of the store and the bakery department is coming up that Sam seriously considers going to the store’s security and requesting access to their cameras.

_ “Daddy!” _ Sam skids to a stop on the linoleum floor at the sound of his daughter’s little voice. 

He whirls around, and his panic immediately evaporates at the sight of Jerri. She’s holding hands with one of the store’s employees, a tiny white boy, and when she catches his eye, she bursts into a grin.

“Oh my god,  _ Jerri,” _ Sam exhales, sinking to his knees as she jumps into his arms. He wraps her up in a tight hug, squeezing his eyes shut and burying his face into her hair, inhaling the rich coconut and sweet hibiscus moisturizer he used that morning. “Where were you, baby?” he asks, extracting himself from her grip.

“I found Spidey!” Jerri tells him excitedly. She holds up a Spider-Man toy, her big brown eyes bright as stars.

“Gerald _ ine _ Wilson,  _ what _ have I said about wandering off?” Sam scolds, frowning down at her.

“But Daddy...” Jerri says, her voice small as her round eyes look down at the toy she’s holding.

Sam closes his eyes, taking a minute to recenter.  _ What on earth am I gonna do with her? _ He looks up for the first time at the tiny white boy he’d forgotten about in his relief at seeing Jerri. 

Despite his kneeling down, Sam can see that the guy is smaller than him in every sense of the word: about a foot shorter, and weighing maybe ninety pounds. He’s wearing skinny jeans and a T-shirt that hangs loosely around his thin shoulders underneath a red vest with the store’s logo and a helpful nametag that reads  _ Steve. _ He’s also wearing a hearing aid in his right ear and glasses with thick black frames perched on his crooked nose. 

_ I hope that this guy doesn’t look as sickly outside as he does in here, _ Sam prays, noting the way the fluorescent lights completely washed out his skin and his blond hair.

“Thanks for finding her,” Sam sighs, gripping Jerri’s free hand in his and rising. The man’s so tiny, he has to crane his head back to keep eye-contact with Sam.

“Actually  _ she  _ found me,” replies the man, smirking, his voice surprisingly deep for such a little guy. “She told me she saw the toy and wanted to show you, but you'd left. So she did exactly what you told her to do: find someone who works here to help.”

“You did?” Sam looks down at his daughter in surprise.

“I do good?” asks Jerri, staring back up at him with big eyes. There’s a little furrow between her eyebrows that Sam wants to smooth away with his thumb, guilt gnawing at him for his initial freakout.

“The best, sweetpea,” he assures, giving her a smile. She immediately brightens, and Sam’s insides turn into a melted marshmallow.

“Yes!” she yells enthusiastically, waving the Spidey toy around. The guy - Steve - chuckles.

“Thanks again,” Sam says, shooting Steve a grateful smile.

“No problem,” Steve replies, shrugging effortlessly. “When I’m not restocking vegetables, I’m training to be a teacher, so this is good practice for me at kid wrangling."

“Really?” Sam asks, feels his eyebrows raise. “What grade?”

“First,” he answers, sticking his reedy chest out proudly. A corner of Sam’s lips quirks at the sight. “I’ve got an in over at Shield Academy, and I’ll be teaching in the fall soon enough.”

“That’s awesome!” Sam enthuses, breaking out into a smile. “Jerri’s going to start at Shield in September!”

Something in Steve’s eyes, which Sam notices for the first time are blue, light up. “Really?” he asks, and Sam nods. But before he can add anything else, Steve crouches down to Jerri’s eye-level. Sam doesn’t even have enough time to be surprised by that when Steve asks her, “So Jerri, are you excited to start first grade in a few months?”

Sam raises an eyebrow but keeps quiet, curious at what his daughter’s gonna say.

“Uh-huh!” Jerri immediately responds, flicking her eyes up to look at Steve, her face practically glowing with excitement.

“What’re you most excited about school?” Steve asks curiously.

“Colors!” exclaims Jerri, her smile wide.

“Colors?” Steve tilts his head to the side, something that Sam can’t help but think  _ adorable.  _ “What about colors?”

“She loves art,” Sam cuts in. Steve’s eyes momentarily flick up towards him, but just as fast they met Jerri’s again.

“Really?” asks Steve, his plush lips pulling back into a smile. “I love art too!”

Jerri’s eyes widen comically and she takes a deep breath. “Really?!” she nearly shouts, and Sam has to bite his lower lip to keep from laughing.

“Yeah!” Steve practically yells, his excitement nearly at level with Sam’s daughter. “Guess what I teach at school?”

“What?!” Jerri asks, her tiny body vibrating with anticipation that Sam can feel through the connection in their hands.

“Art,” Steve answers with a mischievous smirk.

Jerri’s mouth drops into an  _ O _ shape and all the vibration from her stops. “No way!” she exclaims. Steve laughs, loud and bright, and Sam is this close to laughing along with him.

_ “Way,” _ Steve beams, looking genuinely happy. Sam smiles, his chest glowing with warmth at this interaction. 

Ever since Sam’s become a parent, he’s noticed that a lot of people when they interact with kids aren’t nearly as enthusiastic as Steve is being with Jerri. Sure they’re  _ nice _ , but they only look nice for nice’s sake, not like they’re genuinely  _ listening  _ to what the kid has to say. Hell, even Sam’s friends who claim not to be kid people treat Jerri or any kid they meet like a person: none of the condescension, or treating them like they’re less than because they’re kids.

Just respectful, like how Steve’s treating Jerri.

“Wow!” Jerri states, shaking Sam from his thoughts. She turns her rich brown eyes on him, and they’re as big and as sparkly as an anime character’s. “Daddy! I wanna do art with Mr. Steve!”

“Well, you’re gonna have to wait, baby,” Sam tells her. “School doesn’t start for two more months.”

“Aw,” Jerri whines, her entire enthusiasm evaporating in an exhale, leaving her slouching and looking at the ground dejectedly.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Steve assures, drawing Jerri’s attention back towards him. “Until then, I’m still working here and you and your dad can always come and visit me during my break!”

Jerri’s face splits out into a grin, her spirits immediately lifted. “Daddy n’ me are gonna get ice cream, do you wanna come with us?!”

“Jerri,” Sam starts, his heart hammering in his chest and embarrassment flooding into his cheeks.

“I’d love to,” Steve says, but his smile’s dimmed a few kilowatts and that immediately has Sam itching to put that look back on his face. Steve’s eyes flick up to Sam’s before meeting Jerri’s again. “But I can’t, I’m lactose intolerant.”

“Wassat?” asks Jerri, tilting her head to the side and her eyebrows pinching together.

“It means Steve can’t drink milk, honey,” Sam explains, trying not let his feelings of dejectedness sneak into his voice, “or he’ll get sick.”

“Oh,” Jerri says, nodding her head in understanding. “Well, daddy always gets coffee! You can get coffee with him!”

“Jerri, I’m sure Steve has other plans,” Sam tells her gently, stamping down on his own matching disappointment.

“Actually I don’t have any plans,” Steve cuts in, smiling tentatively up at Sam.

That smile has more right than it should at making Sam’s heart swoop in his chest like a bird’s and his breath catch in his throat.

“If you’re sure,” Sam tests, unsure but also eager.

Steve smiles fully up at him, his blue eyes glittering behind the lenses of his glasses. “I’m sure,” he says, his voice deep and affirming.

Sam nods, ignoring the way his cheeks warm at the way Steve’s staring at him. “Okay, we’re just going to finish up our shopping and then we’ll be at the Baskin Robbins next door.”

“Sounds good,” Steve says with a nod, standing up and brushing the dirt off the knees of his pants. 

Sam knows logically - can see it for himself - that he’s got a good head and hundred pounds on Steve, and can take him if he thought for one minute that Steve would be dangerous. But somehow the way Steve’s looking at him now, the way he was chatting with his daughter, Steve seems to radiate a warm energy that’s bigger than Sam, bigger than even the store they’re standing in.

Maybe it’s that energy that’s making Sam feel drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

“It was nice meeting you, Sam,” Steve tells him, holding out a hand.  _ Yeah,  _ Sam can’t help but think as he grips the offered hand.  _ It was. _

“See you later, Steve,” Sam replies, letting go and immediately mourning the loss of the touch.

Steve turns his blue gaze on Jerri and gives her a warm smile. “Bye Jerri, it was nice meeting you too.”

“Bye Steve!” Jerri answers, waving excitedly as Sam starts to walk them away. “See you for ice cream!”

“See you there!” Steve confirms, giving her an answering wave. He’s smiling so big, there are crinkles in the corners of his eyes.

“Daddy,” Jerri stage-whispers conspiratorially. “We got a date!”

Sam chuckles, part of him hoping they’re far enough away that Steve can’t hear them, and the other part hoping he can. “Yeah, sweetpea, we do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sadieb798#8062 on discord!


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